Protests erupt as killer cop gets slap on wrist

Rallies were held in several cities following the sentencing of Johannes Mehserle, the Oakland Bay Area Rapid Transit cop who killed an unarmed Oscar Grant on Jan. 1, 2009. Grant was shot by Mehserle while lying face down with his arms behind his back.

Although the killing was videotaped and Mehserle fled the state after the shooting, the court last July found him guilty not of murder, but of involuntary manslaughter. On Nov. 5 Mehserle received a two-year sentence with time served. After killing a young Black man for no reason, he could be out of prison within a year.

Oakland, Calif.
‘Cops wanted a mass arrest’

Several hundred people rallied on Nov. 5 in downtown Oakland in an outpouring of community anger and protest. Hundreds of heavily armed police converged on the rally in an attempt to intimidate and prevent it from occurring. In the shadow of the police state, the mostly young people rallied, rapped and spoke out against the growing epidemic of police violence, including murder, against Black and Brown youth in Oakland. After the rally organizers canceled their march, hundreds of young people decided to march to the Fruitvale BART station, the scene of Grant’s killing.

The police barricaded the street several blocks away from the station and began to close in on the demonstrators. Retired union letter carrier and Bail Out the People Movement activist Dave Welsh, who was one of those arrested, told Workers World: “The police surrounded us — their orders to disperse were a fraud. It seemed like they wanted a mass arrest.”

More than 152 people, mostly Black and Brown youth, were arrested. Throughout the arrest process, people chanted, “We are all Oscar Grant.” Welsh reported that the police pepper-sprayed and beat several young Black men. The demonstrators, crowded into cells at the city jail, were held into the next day.

The rally was sponsored by the Onyx Organizing Committee, Oakland General Assembly for Justice for Oscar Grant, and the New Year’s Movement for Justice. The Community Outreach Committee for Justice for Oscar Grant is planning a mass meeting to continue protesting police brutality in Oakland.

— Judy Greenspan

Los Angeles
‘A step back to Plessy’

Los Angeles WW photo: John Parker

After a Los Angeles court found Mehserle guilty of only involuntary manslaughter in July, Grant’s friends, family and allies understood that justice would ultimately be fought for in the streets. Organized primarily by the Los Angeles Coalition for Justice for Oscar Grant, protests since then have demanded 14 years, the maximum sentence, for the killer cop. On Nov. 5 hundreds of protesters demanded justice at a rally that started at 8 a.m. and continued until the announcement of Mehserle’s sentence five hours later.

Said Jubilee Shine of the Justice for Oscar Grant Coalition: “This trial was an attempt to bring us a step backward to Plessy v. Ferguson, which said that a Black man has no rights that a white person is bound to respect. ... We know that if that’s the direction they want to put us in, then whatever comes out of that is on their hands.”

When Grant’s family addressed the media after the verdict, it was not defeat in their eyes. One could see and feel that their anger had steeled them with determination to fight on.

Many expressed the sentiment that this was just one form of the struggle and that, instead of demoralizing protesters, these events would inspire more efforts to unite and organize.

— John Parker

San Francisco Labor Council
ILWU Locals 10 and 34 commended

The following resolution was passed unanimously at the Oct. 8 meeting of the San Francisco Labor Council. The San Francisco Labor Council commends ILWU Locals 10 and 34 for shutting down all Bay Area ports on Oct. 23 to demand justice for Oscar Grant, and in calling and helping organize the powerful Justice for Oscar Grant Rally in Oakland on the same day.

In the spirit of Harry Bridges, this is an example of a union looking beyond only narrow economic self interest to support the broader struggle for social justice and support for communities of color.

This kind of stand can strengthen the labor movement as a whole by building ties with broader communities outside the organized labor movement. Thank you for this progressive move.

Houston
‘No justice, no peace, no racist police’

Houston WW photo: Gloria Rubac

Dozens of angry Houstonians demonstrated outside a police substation on Nov. 6 to show their disgust at the light sentence. Chanting “Todos somos Oscar Grant” and “No justice, no peace, no racist police,” the young protesters attracted support from passersby.

The demonstration was organized by All Communities Against Brutality. Its slogan, “We are ALL Oscar Grant,” expressed solidarity with police victims like 16-year-old Derrick White. This past September, White was beaten and had his jaw broken at a high school by Houston cop Christopher Harris.

— Gloria Rubac